The Teachers' Report (2014)

Homophobic bullying in Britain's schools

Stonewall is pleased to launch The Teachers' Report (2014), YouGov polling of almost 2000 primary and secondary school teachers across Britain. The report shows teachers' perceptions of and attitudes to homophobic bullying in schools today, as well as how things have changed since YouGov first conducted this survey in The Teachers' Report (2009).

Key findings:

Almost nine in ten secondary school teachers (86 per cent) and almost half of primary school teachers (45 per cent) surveyed say pupils in their schools have experienced homophobic bullying.

The vast majority of teachers - nine in ten in secondary schools (89 per cent) and seven in ten in primary schools (70 per cent) hear pupils use expressions like 'that's so gay' or 'you're so gay'.

More than half of secondary school teachers (55 per cent) and four in ten primary school teachers (42 per cent) say they don't challenge homophobic language every time they hear it.

More than half of primary school teachers (56 per cent) have not addressed different families (including same-sex parents) in the classroom, and a third of secondary school teachers (34 per cent) say they have not addressed issues of sexual orientation.

Only eight per cent of primary school teachers and 17 per cent of secondary school teachers say they have received specific training on tackling homophobic bullying.

More than a third of secondary school teachers (36 per cent) and nearly a third of primary school teachers (29 per cent) have heard homophobic language from other school staff.

What has changed since 2009:

Since this study was first conducted in 2009, Stonewall has produced a range of high-quality, age-appropriate resources for primary and secondary schools and there have been some promising signs of improvement. In some areas, though, little progress has been made and there is still lots to do: almost nine in ten secondary school teachers and almost half of primary school teachers say pupils in their schools experience homophobic bullying.

Half the number of secondary school teachers say pupils are often or very often the victim of homophobic bullying: 13 per cent compared to 25 per cent in 2009.

Fewer teachers hear 'that's so gay' or 'you're so gay' often or very often: in secondary schools 36 per cent compared to 58 per cent in 2009, in primary schools 12 per cent compared to 17 per cent in 2009.

There has been no real improvement in the proportion of teachers who believe that their head teacher or school governors demonstrate clear leadership in tackling homophobic bullying.

There has been little change in the proportion of teachers who have heard homophobic language from other staff